Behaviorism  What is behaviorism?  A branch of psychology that assumes all behaviors can be explained as a combination of environmental factors (i.e. rewards, punishments, etc.)  Stems from John Locke’s "tabula rasa” theory that stated that the mind is a blank slate at birth, able to be molded at will  An explanation of learning that focus on external events as the cause of changes in observable behaviors.  What are the differences between Behavioral and Cognitive learning theories?

Classical Conditioning (Pavlov and Watson)  Pavlov’s dogs:  While researching the physiology of digestion in dogs, Pavlov noticed that, the dogs salivated in the presence of the lab technician who normally fed them. ( Pavlov called these psychic secretions .)  From this observation he predicted that, if a particular stimulus were present when the dog was presented with meat powder, then this stimulus would become associated with food and cause salivation on its own.  Pavlov used bells to call the dogs to their food and, after a few repetitions, the dogs started to salivate in response to the bell.

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